The Luxury Of Falling In Love
by sctwilightvampwolfgal
Summary: Luxury was something that when Francis had gotten married, he did not have. After nearly two years as a married man slowly luxury trickles back in. *Cardverse AU.*


The dress glitters as it moves across her frame. The stress that had been beaten into her was nowhere in sight, right now. Lili wasn't holding paperwork; she had no more stress lines or worried frowns. She's beautiful in the simplicity of the moment; her skin shone in the gold of Diamond's royal garments, and suddenly, Francis saw the woman that he'd hurriedly married back when things were starting to go bad, now that the times were good.

Francis' throat went dry as he stared across the table at her, realizing that he should take a seat for dinner, as his wife smiled at him, actually smiled. It was more than he ever could have imagined, when he thought back to how he'd worried that they'd both get their heads cut off. No children had been born to them, from the mere stress of it all.

"So," Lili smiled again, as if she were a bright light that could never fade, even though he'd seen her when that light had been rather dim, "Did you marry who you thought you would?"

"If by that, you mean the woman that they told me I'd marry, then yes." Francis shrugged; what do you really do, when your wife asks you that kind of question?

"No, I mean, did you have anyone in mind that you really wanted to marry?" Lili's face turned pink as she stared down at her freshly cleaned and polished fingernails. The maids were trained from years of experience to make every second and day an excuse for perfection after all.

"I don't think that I really had anyone in mind, back then." Francis sighed, "I didn't have the luxury of choosing a bride, I'd always known, but I did flirt with the beautiful women that I came across. How could I not, when I knew I wasn't promised yet?" He couldn't believe this conversation, but he'd always known that perhaps somethings weren't just remnants of the past anymore.

"Not even one woman?" Lili leaned back against her chair, and he almost asked her the same question back, instead of replying.

"I used to think that Ivan married well. Elizaveta is a force to be reckoned with, and naturally, I used to have a crush on Arthur's little sister, but I never imagined marrying either of them." Francis reached for his wine glass, fiddling with it, since dinner wouldn't be done for another half an hour left. The pure bliss of doing nothing important was such a relief after the past year and a half.

"Well," Lili paused, looking away, "I'd had a crush on you before." She shrugged, "Just, marrying you was something much different than wanting to marry you and never having a real conversation with you. It's not bad, but..." She'd accidentally rambled, but still Francis didn't blame her feelings on this matter.

"It's passionless." Francis shrugged, but he doubted that the words should come so easily; it felt almost like a cruel insult, but the Diamond Kingdom couldn't afford the delay of the Heart Kingdom, especially with fairly recent political upheaval. It had always felt like walking on a thin precipice to be a member of the Diamon Royalty.

"It is." If it felt as much like a sham to her, as it had been for Francis, then he didn't really know what else to say or do. It didn't go away by willing it away, and relationships weren't built overnight.

* * *

Lili was a delicate eater, though that might have been covered in her training to become the queen. Either her brother or Francis' mother would have seen to that, before she died during the revolution, willing to be the scapegoat, so that her only son could live long enough to have a family with his young bride.

Francis didn't know why it stuck out to him so much, perhaps he'd forgotten delicateness when everything was a mad blur, when speed meant life, not manners. Within the Diamond Kingdom, luxury was emanant. If it wasn't rich and gorgeous, then it wasn't something worthy of royalty. He just hadn't realized that Lili was as delicate and careful with her food as someone born for royalty.

Tonight the meal was quiet, no difficult questions to keep a conversation rolling, and definitely not business matters to be discussed. Francis had always been a people watcher, though Arthur told him that Francis didn't people watch or observe, that he looked for his next young lady to terrorize with his flirting and pesky voice.

Francis hadn't really observed his wife like a husband ought to. He didn't know her favorite color or her best childhood memory. He only knew about as much as newspapers could report on about her, other than the fact that she used to have a crush on him apparently. He figured that their marriage had ended those age old feelings. When your marriage is passionless and void of all romance, you tend to lose feelings for the other.

Francis sighed, but he couldn't help but admit that the delicateness of his wife was beautiful. Perhaps, it was royalty talking, but something about it stole his breath for the briefest of moments.

* * *

Queen Lili of the Diamond Kingdom was back to work today. Francis had walked into their shared library and study to find his wife bent over some paperwork, green eyes focused. The seriousness had the luxury of being slow and attentive rather than rushed and urgent. Francis paused. Sometimes his wife seemed much too old for him, aged by politics, and other times, she seemed much too young for him. She's five years his junior and often looks the part.

Today, she seemed his own age. Her seriousness was mature rather than aged. She was much too serious and quiet to be so young. Francis stood in the doorway, watching the delicate gleam of her green eyes, the way they roved across the page, the way she stood. Lili stood like a queen or at least a major political figure. Her legs were shoulderlength apart, her dress the only hint that she wasn't closed in and all bunched up. Her eyes were small and zeroed in, her shoulders pushed back and confident, and in the quiet of no company, her dress shone deep purple with some dark green. She was not a floating diamond or someone dressed over the top.

LIli was merely beautifully preserved sophistication. Francis's throat went dry. No woman in his castle had ever stood so confident and tall, so powerful and brave. Perhaps, his mother had at her death, but Francis could not think of death looking at a woman that shows life at her strongest.

"Francis?" She looks up, and he's grateful that their marriage keeps them addressing each other by their first names. It's much closer and softer than anything else. Her eyes are confused and yet her confidence never eases up.

"I just came to work on paperwork." Francis hates the menial tasks that kingship forces on him, but he must always be ready for work as a member of royalty. "Do you need help, dear Lili?" It slips out unbidden, but perhaps it's a side effect of his tendency to be flirty and use his words in that soft, unreserved purr that he'd grown used to.

"Yeah." She sighs, "I'm not a kid anymore." Something is sad in her green eyes, so Francis steps closer in hopes that proximity erases it. A day doing paperwork together is not a day to be desired, but two minds are much, much better than merely one mind.

* * *

With the ball long over, political kingdoms appeased, and all manners of merely sophisticated conversation handled, Francis is tired. He hadn't seen his wife since morning pleasanties or since breakfast. It's a thought that crosses his mind with much surprise. He'd have expected to see her much, much sooner, since they had professed their vows together almost two years ago.

It's an odd thought as he slips out of a constrictive suit that he'd long since forgotten to be used to. A whole day appeasing others without the luxury of merely being a prince and able to slip into the crowd and get lost among pretty clothing and mostly cheerful politically meaningless conversations.

Age and the years since the last ball had made him forget the old joys that these events used to inspire in him. As he finally slips into bedclothes, he realizes that his wife is already curled up among the covers. He slips in, just to loop his arms around her waist, just tired enough to rest his head against her.

Francis and Lili were not cuddlers, and yet exhaustion pulls Francis's years away from him, so he leans against his wife and longs for sleep, just cherishing a warm body next to him. Perhaps warmth will lead to pleasant dreams and keep nightmares far away for a long, long time.

* * *

The ball must have drained Lili, a woman never really made to dance among the royalty or skitter among the crowds, bounding from one conversation to the next. She'd never been a princess, and Francis feels bad for the formality that requires this of them. Lili's accepting the warm cup of morning tea with tired eyes as they wait for breakfast. She only looks up to greet him, having crawled out of bed much before him.

"Goodmorning." Francis returns as he takes his seat beside her. He can't help but see that her face has been done up, that she's in a gorgeous gleaming gown that must be new, and heels that probably make her feet ache this morning. Francis can see that she is made to look her best as if her tiredness meant nothing other than something to hide away.

"How are you?" LIli tries, as she kicks one heel faintly up, just to move a tired foot and urge wakefulness back into her very being.

"Alright, last night was too much." Francis hopes that they'll prepare him a cup of tea, if only to help his mind wake up. "And you?"

"Tired." Lili sighs, "I never knew these parties were so tiresome. I think I talked to every other queen about politics, the past two years, and everything else. It would have been easier if they just asked me about how I'm adjusting to marriage rather than politics."

"They're like that. I think it's bred in royalty." Francis sympathises with her. The ball seemed to last forever last night. If only, it was granted permission to actually be fun. Perhaps, that was why he'd rather flirt several years ago and dance with a myriad of ladies. It was much, much easier than only hearing of politics.

"You're royalty." Lili tells him, but her lips quirk up and Francis is grateful to see a smile on her face for the first time this morning.

"That I am, but politics bore me too." Francis smiled. He didn't want to admit that they actually tired him, beat down his identity and left him clawing for an escape. At best, they just bored him, but living them definitely was anything but boring or cheerful. He was grateful that they'd survived the past two years though.

"They are dull." Lili agreed, nodding her head, before changing her mind. "Would you like some tea? They never expected me to request some this morning." Lili shrugged.

"Yes, please." Francis was relieved to feel the hot cup pressed against his hands and the caffeinated drink against his lips. It was like a good wake up slap in the morning. He just wished it was stronger, though.

"I've had enough anyway." Lili shrugged, and Francis wondered just how worn out and selfless his wife was. She had to be the stronger of the two of them.

"You can always have more. You are my wife after all." Francis shrugged; it felt way different to say the words than to merely think them, and for once Lili's face bloomed a light shade of red. It looked good on her: cute, vibrant, and alive.

"Thank you." Lili finally answers, voice going soft before the day will force more politics out of them.

* * *

"Where is my wife taking her break?" Francis asks another day, as he realized they had no paperwork and no meetings, and he figured spending time together would be the proper answer to this freeness.

"She went out to the gardens, your majesty." The servant answers him calmly, and so Francis thanks him quietly and hurries on.

Just stepping out and seeing Lili among the flowers was the most pure and most beautiful sight. She's wearing a light green dress and nearly blends in among the plants that she is admiring. She steps among roses and walks past tulips, and Francis can't believe that he's quite staring at her.

Francis wishes for more politically free days, as he steps out to join her.

"Lili?" She startles as his presence and turns to meet his eyes. Francis's mouth is more dry than wet anymore, but he doesn't mind.

"Francis." She smiles as she steps towards him, "What are you doing here?"  
"I wanted to join my wife for a nice day." He answers, and something within Lili seems to blossom as she smiles up at him.

"I'm just admiring our garden. I don't think I'd ever seen it before." She steps away, just to lead him among the plants before stopping at a small pond.

Francis can barely look away from the woman he has married. He realizes that there is beauty in the Diamond Kingdom and it not the garden, nor Francis, nor the clothes they were, but it is his wife, more beautiful than the finest diamonds.

"We have lillies." She bends down to show him, and Francis gasps. It's not the flowers that capture his attention though he gazes at them, but the gentleness in his wife's voice and the innocence of it. It's simple and delicate, and Francis is more awed by his wife than the plants. The old trials and struggles have left her. She is as delicate and free as one who had never been forced to survive the worst.

"We do." Francis can't help that his voice goes soft too. It is not the softness of flirting but a delicate tenderness that takes his voice over. He suddenly can picture Lili as a mother. She'd be delicate and attentive, loving and kind. Francis has never wanted something so much before.

Lili turns to him, perhaps at the sound of his voice, and Francis tries to find the words for what he wants to say.

"Lili, may I kiss you?" It's tender and he wonders if it's overly polite for a marriage but she smiles at him anyway.

"You may." She lifts her hand as if to smooth her own hair out but just drops it instead.

Francis closes the little distance between them and leans down, looping an arm around her waist and delicately brushes that fallen strand of hair out of her face with his other. He tilts his head down, as if he'd already memorized the distance between them.

His lips brush hers, once, twice, thrice, and finally he remains pressed against her. He's gentle as his lips trace hers, and maybe that's why her hands weave up past his shoulders to loop around his neck and hold her closer against him. It's innocent as he gently leans against her, wishing that he could memorize this spark between them, memorize the smooth softness of leaning against each other, and the delicate cadence of her lips against his.

It's more surreal than the discovery of the lillies in the waterbed, but it does not last any longer than a minute or two, and his eyes are pinned to his wife. She's the most beautiful and the most enchanting woman that he's ever met. He longs to kiss her again, but can not press any closer, so he stays holding her.

"That's beautiful." Lili tilts her head to lean against his shoulder, and Francis hopes that he isn't imagining the beat of her heart against his arm. Francis never knew that this first real kiss between them would be so gentle, and be one that he'd never imagined or anticipated. He can't deny that he's been slowly but surely falling head over his own dress shoes in love with his wife.

He can no longer tell if his arms are the ones holding them closely together or if it is her arms. Francis just savors the warmth on this Spring morning holding a woman that he can finally call his beloved.


End file.
